Rule 34 (novel)
{{short description|2011 science fiction novel by Charles Stross}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Rule 34
| image = Rule 34 us 200px-front cover.jpg
| caption = Front cover 1st edition (hardcover, US), 2011
| author = Charles Stross
| cover_artist = Alberto Seveso
| country = US/UK
| language = English
| series = Halting State series
| genre = science fiction
| publisher = Ace (US) / Orbit (UK)
| pub_date = July 2011
| pages = 368
| isbn = 978-0-441-02034-8
| preceded_by = Halting State
| followed_by = The Lambda Functionary (cancelled)
}}
Rule 34 is a near-future science fiction novel by Charles Stross.[http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2011/05/rule-34-1.html "Rule 34 – Charlie's Diary"], Antipope. Retrieved 4 June 2011.Stross, Charles (9 September 2009) [https://www.amazon.com/Rule-34-Charles-Stross/dp/0441020348/charlieswebsi-20 "Rule 34 (9780441020348): Charles Stross: Books"], Amazon. Retrieved 4 June 2011. It is a loose sequel to Halting State and was published on 5 July 2011 in the US and 7 July 2011 in the UK.[http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/08/apropos-nothing.html "Apropos Nothing ... – Charlie's Diary"], Antipope. Retrieved 4 June 2011. The title is a reference to the Internet meme Rule 34, which states that "If it exists, there is porn of it. No exceptions."{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6408927/Internet-rules-and-laws-the-top-10-from-Godwin-to-Poe.html |accessdate=15 October 2011 |title=Internet rules and laws: the top 10, from Godwin to Poe |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=23 October 2009 |first=Tom |last=Chivers}} Rule 34 was nominated for the 2012 Arthur C. Clarke Award{{cite web |url=http://www.sfwa.org/2012/03/shortlist-for-the-2012-arthur-c-clarke-award-announced/ |title=Shortlist for the 2012 Arthur C. Clarke Award Announced |date=26 March 2012 |publisher=SFWA |accessdate=13 November 2018}} and the 2012 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.{{cite web |url=http://www.locusmag.com/News/2012/05/2012-locus-award-finalists/ |title=2012 Locus Award Finalists |website=Locus |date=1 May 2012 |accessdate=13 November 2018}}
Plot summary
The novel is told in second-person narrative but primarily from three points of view. Inspector Kavanaugh of the Edinburgh police investigates spammers murdered in gruesome and inventive ways, and learns about similar cases in other parts of Europe. Anwar, a former identity thief who becomes Scottish honorary consul for a fictional state in central Asia, and "The Toymaker", an enforcer and organizer for the criminal "Operation". Their interactions and conflicts drive the story.
Critical reception
Reviews have been favorable, with Cory Doctorow calling the novel, "savvy, funny, viciously inventive".{{cite news |url=http://boingboing.net/2011/07/06/strosss-rule-34-perv.html |title=Stross's Rule 34: pervy technothriller about the future of policing |last=Doctorow |first=Cory |date=July 6, 2011 |work=Boing Boing |accessdate=2012-03-21}} Kirkus Reviews gives it a star, saying, "Dazzling, chilling and brilliant".{{cite web |url=http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/science-fiction/charles-stross/rule-34/ |title=RULE 34 by Charles Stross |date=May 20, 2011 |work=Kirkus Book Reviews |accessdate=2012-03-21}} Publishers Weekly calls "the whole more than the sum of its parts".{{cite web |url=http://reviews.publishersweekly.com/978-0-441-02034-8 |title=Fiction Review: Rule 34 by Charles Stross. Ace, $25.95 (368p) ISBN 978-0-441-02034-8 |date=May 9, 2011 |work=Publishers Weekly |accessdate=2012-03-21}} There was a generally positive review in The Guardian.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/aug/11/rule-34-charles-stross-damien-walter |title=What is Rule 34, you ask. Let Charles Stross explain |last=Walter |first=Damien G. |date=11 August 2011 |work=The Guardian |accessdate=2012-03-21}}
Sequel cancellation
Following the revelations by Edward Snowden, Stross announced that there would be no third book in the planned trilogy. "Halting State wasn't intended to be predictive when I started writing it in 2006. Trouble is, about the only parts that haven't happened yet are Scottish Independence and the use of actual quantum computers for cracking public key encryption (and there's a big fat question mark over the latter—what else are the NSA up to?)."{{cite web |first=Charlie |last=Stross |authorlink=Charlie Stross |work=Charlie's Diary |title=PSA: Why there won't be a third book in the Halting State trilogy |url=http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2013/12/psa-why-there-wont-be-a-third-.html |date=December 9, 2013}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Charles Stross}}
Category:Novels by Charles Stross
Category:British science fiction novels
Category:Fiction about augmented reality
Category:Novels about the Internet
Category:Novels about mass surveillance
Category:Novels set in Scotland
Category:Novels set in Edinburgh
Category:Novels set in fictional countries
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